1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device capable of receiving data via a network from an external source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some printers well known in the art as image forming devices are configured to connect to a network, receive print data from a personal computer or the like on the network, and form images on recording paper based on the print data. Of these network-connectable printers that have become popular in recent years, there are those well known in the art that take in a new sheet of recording paper of a fixed size, such as A3, A4, B5, and the like, and form images based on print data for each unit of print data entered as a print job.
In recent years, network environments have been established throughout society as the popularity of the Internet continues to grow, and there has been a trend, toward expanding the applications of printers by making use of these networks to enable printers to process various types of data.
For example, it is conceivable to provide data as printed materials to a user on a regular basis by directing a printer to acquire and print new data periodically via a network. For example, it is possible to direct a printer to acquire snapshots taken from a surveillance camera and providing the data to a user, or to supply the latest news or the like to a user.
However, a large amount of recording paper may be consumed when printing data at regular intervals. That is, the amount of data received each time is often quite small. For example, data that does not even fill up half a sheet of recording paper may be printed numerous times. Since conventional printers introduce a new sheet of recording paper and print data each time data is received, this will result in a large consumption of recording paper and a waste of paper resources.